Machine for trimming paper.



No. 857,133 PATENTED JUNE 18, 1907. U. E. WHITMARSH. MACHINE FOR TRIMMING PAPER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

I u Whiimarsk W hit) THE NORRIS PETERS CLZ. WASHINGTON, D- C.

PATENTED JUNE 18, 1907.

G. E. WHITMARSH. MAGHINB FOR TRIMMING PAPER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25, 1905.

K nuns-4mm 2.

CE W/zz'imaz'sh UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

"CHARLES E. WHITMARSH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EDWIN S. IVES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND ONE-HALF TO THOMAS J. RYAN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR TRIIVIIVIING PAPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

, Patented June 18, 1907.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. WHIT- MARSH, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Imon very expensive grades of paper.

.In book-binding it often happens that one or more sheets are not folded accurately, or for some other reason some of the leaves when the book is prepared for forwarding are too large and hence project too far beyond the rest of the leaves. When it is desirable to have the leaves about uniform it is necessary to trim the larger ones down. trim all the leaves, with'a clean straight cut, is o'f course easy, and may be done with great rapidity. But when only a few are to be trimmed, or all of them in such a manner that theedges will be left rough, without knife marks or other evidence of having been trimmed, the problem is more difficult. To cut the leaves by hand is slow and laborious, while the machines at present in use for the purpose are expensive both in first cost and in maintenance. I have therefore been led to devise my present invention, by which I am able to trim a single leaf, or any number ofleaves, producing atthe same time rough edges with no evidence whatever that the book has been trimmed.

The most important feature of my invention resides in the trimming device proper. This consists preferably of a disk of any suitable material, from the face of which project a number of pins or studs, all of substantially the same 'length.' The disk is rotated at a rather high rate of speed, say about twentyfive hundred revolutions per minute, and the books are passed edgewise across the same. The effect of the projecting pins is to tear or whip off the paper leaving a rough edge on the leaf or leaves. The operation is rapid and requires no skilled labor, thereby making the cost of trimming very small. At the same time the machine itself is simple, having but few operative parts, and may be constructed at comparatively small cost, while the cost of maintaining it'is very slight.

Referring now to the drawings for a detailed description of the preferred form of my invention, Figure 1 is aside elevation, partly in section. Fig. 2- is a plan view, partly in section on line ill-11. vertical section at about the center of the machine. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are detail views showing the trimming disk which I prefer to employ, Fig. 5 being a central vertical section of Fi 4. As before stated the most'important part of my invention is the device which effects the cutting or trimming. As shown in the preferred embodiment, in Figs. 4, 5., and '6, it consists of a disk 1, from which project axially a number of pins or studs 2, all of substantially the same length, and preferably with their outer ends fiat, as is shown, for example in Fig. 5. This disk is mounted on a suitable shaft and revolved at the proper speed, which may readily be de'termine'd'for any given grade of paper: The bundle of leaves, as for example a collection of signatures sewed ready for forwarding, is then passed across the face of the disk, agood deal after the manner of using a circularsaw, except that the disk does not cut a slit as does a saw, but acts in a manner more analogous to abrasion, in'that the edge, or edges, to be removed from the paper are torn or whipped off, as the bundle passes across the face of the disk. The result of this operation is that the leaves are all brought to a uniform size, but the edges thereof are left rough instead of "being out clean and smooth, as would'be the case if an ordinary cutter of the knife type were used. The trimming also shows no knife marks so often observable on the edge of abook which has been cut withthe usual trimmer. I prefer to arrange the pins in a spiral line, as shown in Fig. 4, using as many rows as may be necessary. This arrangement of the "pins insures that every point on the radius on which the cut occurs will be crossed by the pins one or more times in each revolution of the disk, so that the cut will be uniform no matter what may be the speed of the book in Fig. -3 is a transverse passing across the disk; whereas if the pins 3 were arranged in concentric circles, the cut mlght show grooves or ridges unless the book traveled at uniform speed. Of course either a right or a left'hand spiral may be used; or both may be combined, as shown in Fig. 6.

The mechanism for using the disk may be of any suitable character, as will be readily understood. I have produced excellent results, both as to quality of work and speed of operation, with a disk mounted on an ordinarycircular saw table; but I prefer to employ a special machine for the purpose, such as is shown, for example, in Figs. 1, 2,3and 3. This consists of a suitable frame 3, supportmg a table 4, and on these parts are carried the various elements of the apparatus. The disk 1 is mounted on a shaft 5, carrying a ear 6, and journaled in bearings 7, 8, carried by the frame work 3, and a bracket 9 thereon, the arrangement being such that the face of the revolving disk is parallel with the edge of the table. For the purpose of rotating the disk I provide a shaft 10, having a worm 11 meshing with a gear.12 on a shaft 13 carrying a driving pulley 14, the shaft 13 being journaled in suitable bearings 15, 1.6, in one end of the frame 2. On the other end of the shaft is a gear 17 engaging a gear 18 on the short countershaft 19, which also carries a bevel gear 20 in mesh with the bevel gear 6 on the disk shaft 5.

For the purpose of carrying the bundles or books across the face of the trimming disk I provide the following devices. On the shaft 13 is a roller or drum 21, and at the other end of the table is a similar drum-22. Over the drums, and under an idler 23, is a belt conveyer 24, the tension of which may be regulated by adjusting the idler 23 up or down as the case may require, by means of the screwdevices 25 At the side of the table opposite the disk 1 is a parallel guide 26, carried by pivoted arms 27, which may be set in any adjusted position b tightening the nuts 28. The function of t e guide 26 is to keep the bundles on the conveyer parallel with the trimming disk, and to insure that the books are trimmed to any desired uniform size. In order to reduce the friction of the belt on the upper surface of the table any number of idlers, as 29, may be employed, working in uitable openings in the table, as shown in For the purpose of holding the books or 33 by nuts 35, so that by adjusting the latterthe tension of the belt may be accurately regulated. The spring bearings for the roller 32 also cause the belt 30 to engage the books with a yielding as well as a firm pressure. In order to provide for trimming different quantities of paper, the presser devices may be mounted so as to be adjustable toward and away from the table. In the machine illustrated this purpose is accomplished by mounting the frame 33 in slots 36, formed in a standard 37 rising from the main frame-work 3. The frame 33 is provided with a screw 38, extending through an arm 39, reaching over the table from the u right 37. By turning the hand-wheel 40, the ame and presser belt may be raised or lowered to take the desired quantity of paper between it and the conveyer 24, whereupon the bolts 41 are tightened so as to hold the frame 33 securely in the proper osition.

From the 'oregoing the operation of my machine will be readily understood. The disk being driven at suitable speed, say about 2500 revolutions er minute, and the guide 26 and presser-be t 30 being adjusted to the proper positions, the books or bundles are fed on to the conveyer at the end of the machine away from which the conveyer is moving. The books are thereby carried past and in contact with the cutting pins, at the same time being pressed firmly against the conveyer by the pressure belt, so as to permit no displacement of the material during operation. After passing the disk the books may be removed by the operator or may be delivered to any suitable receiver (not shown) at the other end of the table.

This machine will trim the bundles at a rapid rate. With the disk running 2500 revolutions per minute and the gearing so proportioned as to give the conveyer a travel of say twenty feet per minute, a simple calculation will show that about 1800 ordinary octavo books, presented singly to the disk, may be trimmed in an hour; while, if they are run through in layers of two, three or more, as may be done by proper adjustment of the presser belt, the number -may be doubled or trebled, etc.

One of the most important advantages of my invention is the simplicity of the trimming device. Consisting, as it does, of any suitable foundation, such as a disk, and a number of projecting pins, it may be made very cheaply, yet possessing the necessary degree of accuracy. The character of the work done by it depends largely on the sharpness of the teeth or pins. For example, very sharp cutting edges on the pins will produce a smoother trim than will be the case with the cutting edges dulled or rounded. Thus almost any desired amount of deckle may be given to the leaves, merely by observing that the edges of the pins are properly made. Sharpening of the pins or teeth may be readily effected by filing, or by means of a face grinder, etc. As before stated, I prefer to arrange the pins spirally on the disk, but the invention is not limited thereto nor is the shape of the pins an essential feature. They are shown as being circular'in crosssection, but they may of course be of any convenient form. They are shown projecting at right angles from the disk, which is the most convenient method of setting them. but obviously their angle, to an extent at least, is immaterial. It is advisable that the rotation of the trimming device be toward the bundle or book to be trimmed. Thus in Fig. 1, supposing the paper is fed from the left hand side, the disk should rotate con trary-clockwise. The other direction will, however, do good Work, especially if care is taken to see that the books are held firmly on the table, to prevent the leaves from open- 19:.

While I have described the machine as being intended for the purpose of trimming books,-or even a single sheet of paper, it may be put to other uses as well. For example, I have found that it serves admirably to bevel paper board such as binders board. In such case the board may be passed across the disk while being held at the proper angle to give the desired slant to the bevel, as will be readily understood.

It will of course be understood that the machine herein specifically shown and described is merely the preferred form of my invention, which may be embodied in a va riety of apparatus without departure from its proper scope.

What I claim is: i

1. In a paper-trimming machine, the combination of a table, and a rotatable trimming disk arranged at an angle to the plane of the table, said disk being provided with a plurality of teeth projecting axially from a face of the disk, as set forth.

2. In a paper-trimming machine, the combination of a table, a rotatable trimming disk arranged at an angle to the plane of the table, said disk being provided with a plurality of teeth projecting axially from a face of the disk, and means for carrying the paper across ithe Itlable in engagement with the disk, as set ort 5. In a paper-trimming machine, the combination of a rotatable trimmer, a conveyer for delivering the paper to the trimmer and means for holding the paper firmly on the conveyer durin its engagement with the trimmer, as set orth.

6. In a paper-trimming machine, the combination of a rotatable trimmer, a conveyer constructed to deliver paper thereto, and a guide for the paper arranged adjacent to the conveyer, as set forth.

7. In a paper-trimming machine, the combination of a rotatable trimmer,'a belt-conveyer for delivering paper thereto, a presser arranged to engage the paper and hold the same on the conveyer While the paper is being trimmed, and means for adjusting the position of the presser relative to the conveyer, as set forth.

8. In a paper-trimming machine, the combination of a rotatable trimmer, a table arranged adjacent thereto, and presser devices arranged above the table, comprising a vertically adjustable frame and a belt traveling on rollers ournaled in the frame, as set forth.

9. In a paper-trimming machine, the combination with a'table, and a rotary trimmer arranged adj acent thereto, of a belt-conveyer arranged to travel over the table past the trimmer, and any adjustable guide mounted on the table parallel With the conveyer, as set forth.

CHARLES E. WHITMARSH.

Witnesses:

W. LAWSON DYER, S. S. DUNHAM. 

